"The good news," said Brown, "is that the world is beginning to recognize
the dimensions of the threats that our modern civilization has created for
itself. The energy restructuring needed to reduce carbon emissions and
stabilize climate is now under way. For example, between 1995 and 2001 world
wind electric generation expanded by 32 percent a year while coal use
declined slightly, falling 2 percent over the six-year span. In 2001, world
wind electric generating capacity jumped by 37 percent. In the United
States, it went up by 67 percent."

The cost of wind-generated electricity has fallen from 38¢ per kilowatt-hour
15 years ago to as little as 3¢ on prime wind sites today. And the cost is
continuing to fall. Wind is abundant, cheap, inexhaustible, clean, and
climate-benign--a set of characteristics that no other energy source can
match.

Cheap electricity from wind now offers the option of electrolyzing water to
produce hydrogen. Fortuitously, hydrogen is the fuel of choice for the new
fuel cell-powered automobiles. Honda and DaimlerChrysler plan to be on the
market with fuel cell-powered cars in 2003. Ford plans to enter the market
in 2004.